Maria Henrietta Pinckney | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1782 |
| Died | May 13, 1836 (aged 53–54) |
| Known for | Quintessence of Long Speeches, Arranged as a Political Catechism |
| Parents |
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Maria Henrietta Pinckney (1782 - May 13, 1836) was an American political writer from Charleston, South Carolina. She is best known for her pamphlet the Quintessence of Long Speeches, Arranged as a Political Catechism, [1] written in response to the 1830 nullification crisis between South Carolina and the federal government over tariffs. She died on May 13, 1836 on in her hometown of Charleston.
Pinkney was born in 1836 in Charleston, South Carolina. She was the eldest daughter of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Sarah Middleton. [2] Her father served as the United States Minister to France from 1796 to 1797. Maria lost her mother in her early years of childhood and was educated by her grandmother, Eliza Lucas Pinckney.
During the 1830 nullification crisis, Pinckney authored the Quintessence of Long Speeches, Arranged as a Political Catechism defending states rights and nullification. [3] The pamphlet was published in Charleston 1830, two years after John C. Calhoun's "Exposition and Protest". She posed a series of thirty four questions and answers summarizing the south's case for nullification. She defined the case as, "the Veto of a Sovereign State on an unconstitutional law of Congress". [4] Pinkney called for her fellow South Carolinians to follow the example of "the patriot band who achieved Revolution" [5] in context to the Declaration of Independence crafted during 1776 during the American Revolution fought for independence.
Maria Henrietta Pinckney died on May 13, 1836. Pinckney never married, working as a hostess with her sister Harriott for her father after the passing of his second wife. After her death, Pinckney is buried in St. Michael's Churchyard in Charleston. [6]